Smriti Irani said ‘you don’t know me who I am', claims Congress amid 'Rashtrapatni' remark row
Premium- The furious Opposition leaders slammed Smriti Irani and the BJP in parliament for ‘heckling’ their party president
The alleged verbal duel that went down between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and minister of Women and Child Development of India Smriti Irani on Thursday, took all the attention away from the reason why BJP leaders protested against Sonia Gandhi. Several narratives emerged out of what happened during the commotion which saw NCP leader Supriya Sule and Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra take Gandhi away from the situation.
The furious Opposition leaders slammed Smriti Irani and the BJP in parliament for ‘heckling’ their party president. General Secretary in-charge Communications, All India Congress Committee(AICC) Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter to condemn Smriti Irani's behaviour. “Atrocious and outrageous behaviour by Union Minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha today! But will she be pulled up by the Speaker? Are rules only meant for the Opposition?", Ramesh said.
Later in the day, the Indian National Congress (INC) on Thursday issued an official statement on the incident. The statement went on to say that BJP leader Smriti Irani had said, "you don't know who I am" to Sonia Gandhi.
"Sonia Gandhi was talking to a BJP MP, Rama Devi. Smriti Irani came to Sonia Gandhi and spoke abusive words in a very derogatory tone. When Sonia-ji politely told her, 'I am not talking to you, I am talking to another MP,' Smriti Irani shouted, 'You don't know me, who I am'. MPs of many other parties and Congress MPs are witnesses to this incident," read Ramesh's statement in Hindi.
The statement insisted that Irani has been keen on ‘heckling’ Gandhi which goes against parliamentary discipline. The statement further said, "What kind of behaviour is this? Can an MP not even talk to a fellow MP? Smriti Irani can make her point in a political way. Why is she taking such a heckling attitude with a senior MP and a party president?"
There were reports that during the spat, Smriti Irani pointed her fingers towards Sonia Gandhi and said "How dare you, don't behave like this. This is not your party office".
The spat between the two leader broke out as a result of Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressed the President of India Droupadi Murmu as ‘Rashtrapatni’.
The president is called ‘Rashtrapati’ in Hindi.
Chowdhury has already issued an apology regarding the same. He said, “I am a Bengali, not used to Hindi; I made a mistake, I agree,".
Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less